Mapua made sure that there will be no endgame meltdown to beat San Beda, 70-67, and return to the Finals for the first time in 31 years Wednesday in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
James Kwekuteye missed the potential game-tying triple in the final seconds, giving the second-ranked Cardinals the victory while snapping the Red Lions’ remarkable streak of making it to the league’s biggest stage to 14.
Toby Agustin earlier nailed two free throws off JB Bahio’s fifth foul to give Mapua a three-point cushion in the last six seconds.
The Cardinals, who failed to close it out that resulted to a 67-73 overtime loss that forced a Final Four decider, will play in the Finals for the first time since a Benny Cheng buzzer-beater gave them a back-to-back crown way back in 1991.
It will be an all-Intramuros finale, as Mapua sealed a date with defending champion Letran which has yet to taste a defeat this season.
The Cardinals lost to the Knights 60-80 in their elimination round meeting on April 8.
Game 1 of the best-of-three title series is set at 3 p.m. on Sunday at the San Juan arena.
Arvin Gamboa was huge off the bench for Mapua, producing a double-double outing of 13 points and 10 rebounds to go with three blocks and two assists.
Brian Lacap also scored 13 markers while Paolo Hernandez was the other Cardinal in twin digits with 11 markers.
Yukien Andrada finished with a career-high 19 points while Kwekuteye and Peter Alfaro each had 11 points for San Beda.